Pricier “Drugs” May Be More Effective For Patients With Parkinson's Disease

January 28, 2015 9:02 PM

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At long last, there may be a thin silver lining to high drug costs. A new study shows that a handful of patients who received fake treatments for Parkinson’s disease experienced improved symptoms. This placebo effect was stronger for one of two “drugs” that patients were told was more expensive--though only when the expensive drug was administered first.

Dr. Alberto Espay, the head researcher and a neuroscientist at the University of Cincinnati, says physicians may be able to leverage the power of a placebo to help patients, without writing more prescriptions.